The next flagship iPhone looks set to come with extra tough screens, if a new report from 9to5mac.com is right.
It's just the latest rumor about the iPhone 6 that's doing the rounds, but the guys at 9to5mac have got their hands on some pretty compelling evidence.
Apple and GT Advanced announced a new joint manufacturing facility in Mesa, Arizona last November and there was speculation at that time that it would be used to make sapphire crystal.
This has never been verified by Apple or GT Advanced but import/export documents seen by 9to5mac.com appear to show export details of sapphire displays, more specifically that GT Advanced has ordered Intego Sirius Sapphire Display Inspection Tool components.
The inspection tool components reportedly enable a "new level of repeatability and performance throughout to the production of sapphire material intended for high volume markets such as mobile and touch screen devices".
However, 9to5mac speculates that the machines "are specific for display-grade components, not small pieces of sapphire that could be used for Home buttons or cameras".
The website further reports that GT Advanced has already installed 518 manufacturing units that can create up to 116 million 5-inch sapphire crystal displays a year.
The expectation is that while the display will be stronger and larger, it will also be thinner and come with curved glass edges.
Rumors point to not just one iPhone 6 but two - one around 4.7 inches and another around 5.5 inches.
Both would be considerably larger than the iPhone 5s with its 4-inch retina display, and make the next iPhone more competitive against Samsung's popular phablet range.
It should also come with a better camera than the iPhone 5s and run on an A8 processor.
Ciccarese's new concepts pretty much remove the bezel, maximising the display space without compromising on a distinctively iPhone look.
The concept also gives a good idea of just how much more room there will be for iPhone users with the 4+ and 5+ inch displays.
Another concept image from Ciccarese considers what the rear might look like with the rumored metal finish.
GottaBeMobile offers its thoughts here:
